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Collection:
Trading Post Families of Winslow, AZ

Trading posts were not just a western phonenoma, as Congress established Federal Trading Houses at the urging of George Washington in 1796. By the time posts were dotting the landscape in northern Arizona, laws had changed several times, but traders were still required to register in those early years. The landscape changed somewhat from post to post but constant was the isolation surrounding each site. It required stalwart pioneers to undertake a business such as this, moving their families into harsh environments. Yet a look at these photographs belies the severity of daily life. You will see a range of emotions on faces that could have well been in more civilized locales.